October - Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative, Inc.

October is National Cooperative Month
Each October, cooperatives
all across America
celebrate the role,
accomplishments and
contributions of our
nation’s cooperatives.
Observing National Coop
Month gives electric
co-ops yet another reason
to tell our members
that they are part of
something special.
At a time of increasing national concern
about the economy, especially rising energy
costs, we also must communicate the cooperative
difference to decision makers at all
levels whose actions affect our members
and the communities in which they live and
work. The cooperative difference defines
who we are and what we can achieve: looking
out for our members’ best interests.
For more information of National
Cooperative Month, visit
http://www.coopmonth.coop.
Statement of
Nondiscrimination
Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative, Inc., 6060
St. Rte. 83, Millersburg, Ohio 44654 is the recipient
of federal financial assistance from the Rural
Utilities Service, an agency of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and is subject to the provisions of
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended;
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975,
as amended; and the rules and regulations of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture which provide that
no person in the United States on the basis of
race, color, national origin, age, or handicap shall
be excluded from participation in, admission or
access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be
subjected to discrimination under any of this
organization’s programs or activities.
The person responsible for coordinating this
organization’s nondiscrimination compliance
effort is the President/CEO of Holmes-Wayne
Electric. Any individual, or specific class of individuals,
who feels that this organization has subjected
them to discrimination may obtain further
information about the statutes and regulations
listed above from and/or file a written complaint
with this organization or the Secretary, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.,
20250; or the Administrator, Rural Utilities Service,
Washington, D.C., 20250. Complaints must
be filed within 180 days after the alleged discrimination.
Confidentiality will be maintained to the
extent possible.
Stealing electricity and
meter tampering are crimes
Since August 1978, a revised Ohio law has been in
effect covering theft of utility service and tampering
with utility equipment. The statute provides that a person
does not have to be seen tampering with a meter to
be held responsible for such action. Prior to the revision
in the law, it was difficult to prosecute a person
for meter tampering unless the action was witnessed.
In addition, in prosecution for a user’s reconnecting a
device that was disconnected by a utility, such activity
is now considered prima facie evidence that the user
intended to defraud the utility.
The law defines theft of a utility service as a firstdegree
misdemeanor if the value of the stolen electricity,
plus any utility equipment repair, is less than $150.
It’s a fourth-degree felony if the value is more than
$150 or if the offender was previously convicted of the
charge. Tampering convictions carry similar penalties.
Tampering is defined “to interfere with, damage or
bypass a utility meter, conduit or attachment with
intent to impede the correct registration of a meter or
the proper function of a conduit or attachments.”
Conviction can bring from six months in jail and a
$1,000 fine to five years in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Meter tampering costs all of us. It costs the cooperative,
and it costs you. And, it’s downright dangerous. If
you witness someone tampering with their electric
meter, contact your cooperative office. Stealing electricity
is a crime, and anyone caught violating the law will
be prosecuted. Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative, Inc.
is required by law to provide this notice to its members
annually.
Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative Local page Country Living/October 2009—30a